Van de Velde Sales Rose 5.5% In First Half

Image on the Marie Jo website.

Sales at Van de Velde rose 5.5% in the first half while net income fell 4%. The firm owns the Marie Jo, PrimaDonna and Andres Sarda wholesale brands, as well as international retail chains including three Rigby & Peller (formerly Intimacy) stores in the U.S.

The Belgium-based company, reported net income of 22.0 million euros (about $23.6 million at today’s exchange rates) on sales of 120.6 million euros (about $129.4 million), compared to a profit of 22.9 million euros on sales of 114.4 million euros in the first half of 2022.

Sales in the B2B segment rose 3.4% to 95.2 million euros from 92.0 million euros in the first half of 2022, while sales in the D2C segments rose 14.1% to 25.5 million euros, from 22.3 million euros. Van de Velde noted that “In the second half of 2022 store visit volumes declined due to lower consumer confidence. Nevertheless, Van de Velde continued its investments in an optichannel consumer experience during the first half of 2023. This led to a growth in comparable sales of 4.3%.”

The company added, “In both segments, swim sales grew significantly for the second consecutive year.

• In the D2C segment there is a “double-digit” growth of 13.6% on a comparable basis thanks to investments in our brands.

• The B2B segment grew less strongly (+2.2%) in the first half of the year, partly as a result of high inventory levels end 2022 at our independent retail partners.”

CEO Karel Verlinde summed up the first half of 2023: “In a volatile economic environment, Van de Velde continued to invest in strengthening its brands and its organization. In doing so, we managed to grow sales in both the B2B and B2C segment. This was realized with a strong growth in net cash position.” — NM